No fewer than 18 protesters marking the fourth anniversary of the #EndSARS protests were arrested on Sunday by police officers at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos.
The #EndSARS protests, which took place between October 1 and 20, 2020, were a nationwide movement against police brutality in Nigeria. On October 20, 2020, a peaceful protest at the Lekki Toll Gate turned tragic, with reports of fatalities. In memory of the lives lost, some youths gathered at the same toll gate on Sunday, but were met with police resistance.
According to reports, the protesters were tear-gassed and forcefully rounded up by security operatives. Juwon Sanyaolu, National Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, confirmed the arrests in a statement: “Soweto and 17 other members of the #EndBadGovernance Movement Lagos were arrested at the Lekki Toll Gate this morning by the police. They were there to mark the fourth anniversary of the #EndSARS killings. We demand their immediate and unconditional release. Peaceful protest is a fundamental right.”
The arrested individuals include Hassan Soweto, National Spokesperson of the Youth Rights Campaign, and several others identified as Remilekun Orunsolu, Olamide Thomas, Michael Adedeji, Adeseye Eshe, and Olamilekan Sanusi.
Omoyele Sowore, a prominent activist and 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, also confirmed the arrests via his X handle. “The #PoliceNG has arrested over 18 peaceful protesters at #LekkiMassacreRemembrance at #LekkiTollGate. They subjected them to serious beating and torture while being temporarily detained in their Black Maria at the toll gate,” he tweeted. “Subsequently, they’ve moved them to the notorious SCIID station at Panti in Yaba.”
As of the time of reporting, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, was unavailable for comment.
